Candida - Is it lurking in your body?

A couple months ago I learned about Candida for the first time ever... and, considering the symptoms of which I have complained for possibly my whole adult life, I'm convinced the medical establishment is completely ignorant of it. Only when I consulted a licensed practical nurse who asked me a boat-load of questions about seemingly unrelated issues, like do you have post-nasal drip and itchy ears...how's your memory?..do you suffer from cold hands and feet?..incontinence? (now you're getting personal!).  Anyway, after tallying up all my responses, I was told I may have a problem with Candida, an intractable little fungal yeast that has a tendency to take over in ones body, once it gets a foothold. And in my case, I have a sneaky feeling it got its foothold years ago.

Do you think you might be suffering from yeast overgrowth?  Here is an online questionnaire you can take that may help you identify whether your symptoms might be pointing to a candida problem. I took it and marked in the red.  There's also a simple home test you can do with a glass of water and a little spit. 

Being the sort of person who likes to get to the bottom of my problems and find solutions rather than just finding some drug to manage the symptoms, my LPN started me on a 30-day detox program. Since I've written about this fairly recently, I won't go into detail except to say that at the end of the 30-day program, I developed a recurrence of the rash that appeared on my face back in February-- the very rash that sent me looking for a holistic practitioner in the first place. So I did what most people would do and I went to the internet to find some answers, and what I discovered was both enlightening and disconcerting (a wordy way of saying-- there was good news and bad news).

So we always like the bad news first, right?...nobody likes ending a conversation with bad news. The bad news is, you can't get rid of candida overgrowth in a month. It's a good start, but that's all. As a matter of fact, if you don't manage it properly, you end up with worse symptoms because of a condition called "candida die-off." As the yeast cells break down, they release toxins into the body that the liver (which is our poison filter, among other things) now has to deal with. The symptoms of die-off can sometimes be worse than the original infection. A stubborn candida infection can take months to clear up.

The good news is that with diligent adherence to a diet that discourages candida growth and the addition of anti-fungals and supplements that support the liver, it is possible to bring the candida under control and eventually reintroduce some of the foods that are forbidden in the stage-one, candida-killing diet protocol...theoretically.

The Candida Diet website offers a wealth of information on this condition and provides both diet advice and information on supplements. Another website, Candida Support completely debunks the information on the first website, however, and offers its own proprietary formula guaranteed to get rid of candida forever.

I never did go back to the LPN, only because I am seeing a medical doctor who specializes in naturopathic care. We are in the process of identifying my vitamin and mineral levels as well as heavy metal toxin levels and will address the candida again at my next appointment (more to follow).  In the meantime, I have added the recommended supplements, such as oil of oregano, garlic, and grapefruit seed oil to battle the yeast, and a liver-support supplement to help my liver process the toxins.  Already I'm seeing an improvement in my energy level, and the rash on my face is beginning to fade.

Who knows? Maybe these tactics will be successful. I hope so, because at some point I would like to have my red wine and dark chocolate back.